W alking the halls of Framingham High school, you might not
even notice the changes made to
certain signs.

But eliminating gender
identification from staff bathrooms
and having a “student locker room”
in addition to a boys’ and a girls’
locker room are actually big steps
toward creating an atmosphere in
which transgender students feel safe,
secure and on equal footing with their
peers.

“We look at a lot of student
data, and kids most at risk for mental
health crisis are the kids who identify
as trans,” explained Julie Williams-Tinkham, head of the school’s Health
and Physical Education Department.

So Williams-Tinkham andthe district’s adolescent healthnurse, Mynette Shifman, soughtand received a grant from thestate Department of Elementaryand Secondary Education to bringtrainings and programs to the districtin support of transgender, lesbian,gay, bisexual and queer students.The Promoting Adolescent Healthand School Success grant has gonetoward improving sports and athleticparticipation by LGBTQ students,setting up a way for students to self-report as “non-binary” when fillingout reporting forms, and overhaulingcurricula to make sure they betterconnect with LGBTQ students.

“Working to support trans
students ends up helping all students,”
Williams-Tinkham said.

Supporting students is also central
to the mission of the MTA Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer
Issues Committee.

“What’s happening inFramingham is exactly the kind ofwork the committee wants to beengaged in and be able to promoteand share with all MTA members,”said committee Chair Erik Fearing.

Fearing said the committee
reassessed its role and saw both a
need and an opportunity to advocate
for students and educators. The
committee, which has openings for
additional members and for more
representatives from higher education,
is active in legislative initiatives and
school policy discussions that affect
LGBTQ students.

“We’ll have more workshops at
the Summer Conference and work on
sharing information throughout the
year,” he said.

Williams-Tinkham and
Framingham Teachers Association
Co-President Christine Mulroney
are members of the committee. They
agreed that much needs to be done to
better assist educators in supporting
LGBTQ students.

“In education, it’s very easy to end
up in a silo and lose sight of the big
picture,” said Williams-Tinkham.

But the Framingham experience
is also proving that silos can be
broken down. Not only is the district’s
physical education and health
leader working with other academic
departments, but other districts are
reaching out to Framingham for ideas
on how to better support their LGBTQ
students.

“When it comes to the spectrum of
gender, kids for the most part get it. It’s
in the media and more normalized for
this generation,” Williams-Tinkham
said. “But we have to recognize there
is a train coming in terms of being able
to meet the needs of trans students. We
need to set goals and be ready.”

To learn more about the Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and
Queer Issues Committee and other
MTA committees, please visit
www.massteacher.org/committees.

Educators work to ensure LGBTQ students feel safe

Supporting students
is also central to
the mission of the
MTA Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, Transgender
and Queer Issues
Committee.

Photo by Scott McLennan

Julie Williams-Tinkham, left, and Christine Mulroney, members of the
MTA LGBTQ Issues Committee, said that adding a gender-neutral locker
room at Framingham High School is part of a strategy to address the
needs of students.

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